I admit it–I love video games. My first video game system was the Mattel Intellivision system back around 1981. The most popular system at the time was the Atari. The Intellivision was a more technologically advanced system, but compared to today’s video game systems, it now looks laughable. In it’s day, though, it was something. Then the Nintendo system came out, and the Atari and Intellivision went the way of the dinosaur.

Now, while I love gaming, I am very particular about what I play. I avoid the army-style “shoot-em-ups” (called 1st person shooters, in the parlance) and the fighting games. I prefer the fantasy based (sword & sorcery) games and the puzzle solving games. I like games with a good story, but that also give the player a lot of leeway to move around (called “open-ended” as opposed to “linear” in the parlance).

I know–what’s a grown (ok–old) man doing playing these kids’ games? It’s escape. For an hour or two, there are no bills, no cleaning, no protest rallies, no politics–no NOTHING. A little escape is a good thing.